free. range three risk free. free. free broadcast quality video for your media projects free media r.t. dot com. activists have their sentences slashed in bahrain but human rights campaigners are still unhappy as we investigate here on why the gulf hasn't been able to stop the anti regime protests after almost two years of undress. the syrian government and rebels in the information war over the escalating conflict have been mounting civilian casualties. and that's the u.k. repairs for a recession. in the northeast of the country the financial gloom has taken its toll on people's health and patients running out with a gun. it

is a pleasure to have you with us here on today. live in the russian capital. now straight to our first story here. has cut prison sentences for dozens of program form demonstrators that took part in mass rallies last year but the move has failed to satisfy human rights groups who are calling on the country to free all jailed activists now the gulf states been cracking down on the regime protesters for nearly two years killing dozens and arresting thousands rights organizations demand the nation stop the use of tear gas and torture interrogations but campaigners say bahrain's on a slippery slope to a sunni dictatorship. looks at the struggle between the government and. obfuscation

and who at the end of the day could ultimately benefit from. when it came to supporting calls for democracy in middle east or north african states while denouncing government sponsored violence leaders of the west were vocally critical from our graphic has lost legitimacy to lead and he must leave one. takes that will be for this dreadful regime but when scenes of violent clashes between riot police and reform campaigners came from bahrain the definition of democracy shifted and there was a suspiciously move. in the summer of the us state department came up with a statement expressing its concerns over the human rights situation and alleged torture in bahrain this was only several months after washington had restarted weapons sales to this gulf state it is claimed that the weaponry is defensive but hardly anyone in the opposition believes that dissenters in bahrain have been directing anger at their government for months but now stop arming the killers is

a message they are more often sending out to the west some of the in bahrain blood is worthless and the libyan blood is more important it's just book critical a stand so you'd youssif often travels to europe to direct attention to what he believes to be brutal repression in his country he and others like him have managed to alert human rights organizations but that's as far as it goes months ago. clinton made a statement about bahrain about the human rights situation in bahrain and this. one protester was killed you know and show you that there is no impact on the ground we are a victim and then because we live in a country they condemn the violence committed by the bahraini government against the prius for the protests that and beheading but that is still continuing for decades bahrain has been one of washington's closest allies in the gulf its naval base houses the u.s. fifth fleet. and six thousand troops in

a seemingly irreversible decision made decades ago despite the growing anti-american mood among some of bahrain's neighbors anything happens in the bush era or any of the other players that there are allegations of a nuclear weapon being built we are very close to all of those sites and we have to make the right decision in preventing any kind of catastrophe coming here we are or are not capable of doing that and that's why we turn to our friends and allies and officials firmly deny that washington plays a decisive role in preventing any revolution happening in bahrain but even the bahraini government's information minister suggests the us main fact be playing a double game. i think the iranian opposition is a key ally of the us leader of the opposition and the terrorist members of the opposition have close ties with foreign embassies in bahrain we can leak some of the old many documents proving that if this is true then washington sitting

comfortably it can quickly switch sides if for instance my mom refuses to accommodate the american fleet any further but for now the opposition in bahrain is left to wonder as to why calls to support democracy from some are less worthy of attention than others like see russia ski r.t. reporting from the kingdom of bahrain hard on a certain attention to syria now whether fighting rages on as the rebels and government continue to trade accusations of atrocities civilians and the media are also increasingly being caught in the crossfire of the ongoing twenty one month conflict our middle east correspondent paula slayer filed this report is wearing concern as to the fate of the ukrainian.

a russian and a syrian spy and they've already released some two youtube videos in which he does appear it was an earlier deadline that was extended to wait on some earlier deadline that was extra pos we are hearing from the ukrainian foreign ministry that it's on involved in tweet you could be released but that they're not releasing any kind of information we do know that ukrainian journalists have directly been appealing and talking to the syrian opposition to release her and if not release to at least keep her safe until they do so now of course the rebels almost strangers to kidnapping foreigners there are two russians who are currently being held captive they were taken out last week and moscow is trying to secure their release and then of course it was the n.b.c. crew that also managed to escape the rebel captives they were held held for several days and they were also threatened with execution it's not just kidnappings that the rebels have increased but certainly they have increased the kind of violent activities they've been conducting there's been a flurry of videos appearing on you tube in which we've witnessed the rebels

executing various people in some of the videos their prisoners are flying full good we've seen videos of them behaving people and this is despite the efforts by the rebels to blame the government forces for carrying out executions certainly what we witnessing is that the rebels themselves on not innocent in fact they target guilty as a lot of these as of yet unconfirmed videos so if you do suggest. paula sleigh reporting right there well meanwhile international efforts to try and bring about an end to the syrian conflict are being stepped up. and you got pissed off and must. be ongoing for quite some time russia's been trying harder than ever to mediate peace in syria since of course the bloodshed began although the latest move apparently is happening right here in the russian capital time. well definitely the syrian deputy foreign minister is in town meeting with russia's chief diplomat we don't know that many details at the moment as the meeting is

being held behind closed doors however we do know that the international envoy on syria lakhdar brahimi who's been trying to get both sides of the conflict to put their weapons down he met with president assad on monday in down moscow and just recently from the said that syrian authorities agreed on the forming this transitional government which could include the opposition and would be good be active till the next fall and free elections in the country now we don't know whether the opposition or the rebels. for this deal but to mr right he also said that he had a positive feeling that something good was going on moscow has a good chance of mediating this since it's keeping contact with the syrian. opposition while most western states have denounced this you know as the official in the country for not giving their full support strictly to the rebels so concerning this meeting with the syrian diplomats in moscow on thursday we will get a soon as we get any details of course we'll report. mr wright to me is expected in

the russian capital himself on saturday that's right it was just a few months ago indeed to go to the top and he may actually said when he was given the job position i don't know how i'm going to be successful in this job but it's good to say yes and given up. this kind of thank you. for now after stepping on the road to recovery. the u.k. is preparing to begin the new year recession free of the northeast though one of britain's poorest regions financial downturn and widespread unemployment has had a potentially devastating effect on people's mental health now according to a very new report the region has almost three times the rate of self harm and attempted suicide as london. reports. as the old saying in pressing gaze it's grim no it's a perception of life in some of the nation's other major cities recessions hit the

case hard it's been in the northeast where it's being felt particularly acutely. that is right. here i mean very people who are living on the poverty line genius lead about furious with the government's decision to close sunderland's rempel a factory it's a government venture that began back in the nine hundred forty s. to provide employment the people with disabilities two weeks before christmas the government is going to close. factories and leave the very. stuff was laid off from another rempel a factory back in april and accuses the government of forcing people out of paid jobs and onto a life of welfare we were told in the week before we left the factory. or get jobs. yeah in fact just four people from his old

factory found a job it's not the first time the northern workers have felt the first hand of a conservative government back in the one nine hundred eighty s. and the miners' strike and the margaret thatcher became a symbol of a divided nation this mining village in the living museum in the northeast gives us a snapshot of the past it's been nearly three decades since margaret thatcher and her conservative government crushed the miners' unions the impact that policies had on the north east was extreme and long felt and even today there are many people who still have a deep mistrust of the conservative government the conservatives reputation up here is one that's hard to shake and it makes it hard for them to get a fair hearing on any plans to regenerate so to find out more we decided it was time to pay a visit to number ten i was shocked at the level of understanding on the conservative benches of how people who live in. the northeast.

very often and i think they have a completely different view of how people's lives of the government are accused of not understanding the north but isn't that your job to represent the things to be a fair bit of bickering that goes on among northern and. well i mean having an accent in the house of commons you know i've got quite happy ducks and but that sort of you get sneers when you have an accent and you speak in the commons from the government benches so that in itself is just an example of how the mismatch between the two sides of the government insists it's treating grace in the area seriously and his earmarks money for infrastructure projects targeting the northeast in particular but a legacy of let downs has left many northerners less than an seized what we're saying is. the government this is going to happen this is.

it's a complete shambles so all in it together or a nation divided one thing seems certain that with many predicting an increase in unemployment and a triple dip recession for the the challenges of the year ahead looks set to be testing times for everyone surface r.t. sandland. he is coming here live from the heart of moscow still ahead for you in the program we do continue with our end of year review today i would use team looking back at the launch of the exclusive interview program hosted by the world's most wanted was of course the one and only to do this.

if you're from my generation or younger and you were born into the one percent that i have a lot of college debt i sure do you know the deal used to be that you paid a significant amount for education but in turn that gave you a much higher salary later but now the system works in reverse many young americans studied very hard to not make any money at all around nine percent of americans with student loans have defaulted and at least nine but maybe up to eighteen percent are ninety days late with their payments given the situation the people at u.c. berkeley were nice enough to give away a million dollars in scholarships for everyone everyone that's an illegal immigrant yeah that's right if you're born in america then pay to jump the border and enjoy the red carpet education treatment the people who would be getting the scholarships are mostly the children of illegal immigrants who spent many of their formative years in america and yeah i could see the logic that it could be hard for them to get an education when the when they aren't citizens but they came into the country

illegally it isn't taxpayers jobs to help them but wait berkeley it's a private institution so i guess they can give out the money to whoever they want whenever they want however they want but berkeley management if you're watching this i would really appreciate if you chose some financial mercy to american citizens it isn't like they don't need the help but that's just my opinion. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought

you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. which brightened. from feinstein question. for instance on t.v.

don't come. by so joining us here on our to today i will receive just a moment on the world update finale the french embassy in the central african republic has been attacked by protesters paris to intervene to stop a rebel advance and surgeons reportedly control vast parts of the country and now only seventy five kilometers away from the capital and the u.n. has ordered its stuff out of the country due to the unrest and lawrence freeman of the executive intelligence review magazine says that france will only worsen matters if indeed it gets involved. these developments do not occur overnight this has been brewing for years the french are playing a very bad role and if they get become militarily involved again in the central african republic that's not going to help for african countries are going to have to move in and saudi's brown i think the french have

a right to tap into your embassy but beyond that if they become otero you involved it's not going to be helpful to the central african republic or any of the neighboring countries of the c.l.r. what's going on there is what's been going on in most of the countries in that region which is that you are very unstable governments these countries have never become sovereign because only your powers france and to be required in power britain have kept their finger on the resources of these countries and they basically have never allowed these countries to develop for government whence and they would develop the country for the people by economically. right into the r.t. will top that we go as promised with egypt's president having a claim the new constitution as a new dawn for the country this in his address to the nation after signing the fiercely disputed charter into law mohamed morsi are also claimed it guarantees social freedom and paves the way for democracy what critics say it imposes elements of shari'a law while the norm in the rights of women and minorities is the most

back draft approved by some sixty three percent of egyptians. but angeles police claim a gun buyback event in the city saw sixteen hundred firearms handed in as people form long lines to trade in their weapons for free grocery coupons at the event this year was supported by l a's mayor who has echoed the president calling for a ban on assault weapons. and people across the globe enjoy the holiday season the jolly mood has now gone into space just a bit earlier the crew of the i assess got the chance to video conference with their families and russia's father frost despite the tight shut jewel of space walks and experiments the team are off duty for christmas and the new year giving them just a chance to celebrate. the afghan finance ministry says the country has lost more than seventy million dollars in taxes as foreign companies are avoiding paying their dues it was last week that president karzai slammed the firms

accusing them of widespread corruption but political analyst and former afghan m.p. sultanzoy says the government is equally to blame. what was going on in two thousand and one two thousand and two when the interim authority came to existence and discovery they signed deals exempting some of these companies who were dealing with need to and i sat and then under that umbrella many other companies came and started. carpetbagging and backpacking. illegitimate gains and they never paid taxes this is not new and this government will never have peace the guts to collect taxes from those row companies just in each of my lawn. there are dozens and dozens of companies who are bringing passengers and cargo to this country and who are bringing other goods and they have never paid any taxes they never paid

even landing fees in some cases they haven't paid for flight fees this is just aviation and you can imagine in other fields of commerce in. fuel and transportation and logistics and security in other arenas in all areas there are hundreds of millions of dollars every year there are scaping and this government also sometimes gives them some reprieve by reducing their taxes and exchange for bribes. if you go online to his website you can find out many stories including one doesn't necessarily mean. the death of a relative. of stealth plane to the region.

now with the end of the year approaching we do continue to look back at the most significant events of two thousand and twelve today the launch of a groundbreaking exclusive program hosted by the world's top whistleblower of course that is julian assange and the program was recorded while the wiki leaks founder was under house arrest in britain did manage though to give voice to some of the most prominent public figures out there of course many of those shunned by the mainstream media. when i went to. see these. strong.

so we created this web page with. its online. story. the julian assange show gains over a one million visits and views online and believe me or an interview news show it's kind of an achievement never before we had anything like that on t.v. when one person sitting on the house arrest would give voice to life for the few people around the world whose position of the world doesn't fit in the mainstream media picture.

oh and i just want to hear a lot see we continue with our special report on some of the most violent gangs in american history you want your guns used. the legacy no one should be proud keeps of scrap metal littering pristine arctic landscape building stilton over their foundation pipes spewing black smoke over the snow covered peaks the traces of the soviet industrial activity on the spitzbergen archipelago don't make a pretty picture if the guiding principle here is the worse the better local like to tell the story that back in soviet times when no regions were visiting barons were they also an express amazement. at how prosperous this stuff was

well times have obviously changed by this so it lags they still attracting new region tourists or barons work cons much needed cash that's why one big bad they're ruining our goal is common as was uncovered here a few days ago instead of throwing it away the local administration decided to paint a venue and put it at barron's work central square back in the nine hundred eighty s. daryn's work was a bird. mining community union was determined to maintain at all costs she deeply located halfway between north america and western europe the bergen archipelago is part of norway with a special status that allows other countries to set up industrial bases here in the middle of the cold war it served as the us is ours westernmost outpost now it's one of the soviet union's last preserved relics. it is essentially

a picture of what would have happened to the soviet union if it was cut off from any financial support for two decades he's a curious sight for western tourists and i think it could be even more appealing for russian travelers to keep its presence on spitsbergen russian film until coal mine here but in terms of profit is far behind local server near shops so we've memorabilia it is a big hit the defunct are incurred and still helps keep the money flowing. it's a rush to your. local administration is increasingly under pressure to bring the infrastructure up to more than standards these modernization efforts are not very popular with tourists if you come into a very authentic place like. it should stay the way it is that would be my wish i mean that's the part of the you know authentic tradition here. i should not i would

not like to have it in a shiny condition to be honest this time to change even for the better is not always good for business something that even a local band has become attuned to when they try to add the morning russian songs to their repertoire the audience called the wanted to hear it was a song comfortably familiar. no brother walk out the door to school six in the morning and you get him is going to school so you got there what's up a signal of his world be a backyard in a morning just norms and to do some like that. we've been burying one of offerings while comrades and we've actually out at the funeral when another one of our weight

gets killed at the funeral and then. so as we live amongst each other there might be one street it might be one gas station the service too with three different gangs when i get to the gas station i have to find out what are your intentions with me while i'm pumping gas so i cannot turn my back and allow you to shoot me or hit me in the back to here to look you in your eyes and see your intentions and when i look you in your eyes i'm looking to see if you all will feel wolf and i'm a wolf then we need to come to some sort of agreement so we can both get out of here peacefully. and if your porch up i'm happy to let me go and get my guestbook up i appreciate your opinion when i was in the communities talking to guys in the game see and lots of contact with that so many of these particularly younger guys had never seen the pacific ocean in a gang infested community there are situations where people will not believe

a given ten block radius for years like this man for though they don't go no where they got a fuck about a two liter bottle out of. because they don't own that. and he's been told met that if you a quick you did it's what they call slipping don't get caught slipping. slipping means relaxing being off guard. not on point not always hostile on ready to do it. and be the one who does good ones that. you can have and if you have to be on your toes it all ties man because anything at any time can happen to you and you can have a hard knock and you can have a heart but you better not show it there's sort of never letting yourself be weak never let yourself be saved.